City Chase in Kelowna, BC

On Saturday, June 4th, Mike and I raced in the Mitsubishi City Chase in Kelowna and had an absolute blast.

For those who have never heard of this event, it's a mini 'Amazing Race' but done in a day instead of a month - here's a brief description:
The Mitsubishi City Chase is an urban adventure; participants must be able to show teamwork, resourcefulness, determination and the ability to make decisions on the fly as they search for ChasePoints scattered in unknown locations throughout the city. ChasePoints are designed to test teams with a variety of physical, intellectual, adventurous and humorous challenges.

Team of 2 will run, walk and use public transit to navigate their way throughout the city - The first team to complete the required Chase Points and cross the finish line before the 6 hour timeframe WINS. This race takes places in major cities across Canada, and is also on the worldwide scene. (check their site at www.mitsubishicitychase.com)

Kelowna hosted more than 100 teams that day and the weather was absolutely amazing. We were slow to start since our knowledge of Kelowna was limited, except for driving through on our way to Vancouver so we were definitely at a disadvantage from the start. Once we figured out some of the chase points, the race was on.


We had a few firsts that is for sure: I rode an ATV through an obstacle course, Mike had to learn to knit, pull a car (with me in it!) and scale down the Sandman Hotel from the 14th floor.

We want to thank our friends who sponsored us for the Right to Play Charity. Part of the event is a venue to raise money for Right to Play. By raising money, this gave us the advantage of having one chase point ahead of time; we just needed to show up at the proper chase point to get our credit.

Our biggest challenge was figuring out the transit system; we misread the schedule so although we did all our 10 chase points, we were 10 minutes late to cross the finish line. But now, we know Kelowna much better.

We're hoping for a few friends to join us in the fun next year. We are definitely entering again.

This wasn't our first event; when we lived on the coast, we participated in the Vancouver City Chase in 05, 06 and 07. So we're thrilled that Kelowna is now hosting an event.

At the finish line, a nice cold Molson Canadian was waiting; nice! And cookies from Subway and Nestea soft drinks. This whole event is really well organized.

There is an after party which we missed; we were so bagged that we went out for dinner and went back to our B&B; we sipped delicious wines while watching the sunset over the lake and mountains, a nice way to finish the day.

Stay active, have fun!
Marie

Update on Zumba fundraiser

On May 28th, a group of us participated in the Zumba funraiser for Relay for Life. It was SO much fun, we had 5 amazing instructors, each taking turn showing us some great moves.

Instead of being 1 1/2 hour class, we danced for 2 hours non-stop. The weather held up until the last song, then the grey skies moved in - what great timing.

This event raised $1400 for Breast Cancer research, so on behalf of Sharon and her friends from the Okanagan, thank you SO much for all who participated and donated.

It was a blast. Let's try to raise twice as much next year.


See you then.

5K and 10K Running Clinics starting soon

For those who missed out on the first clinic given by Kari Tithecott, you are in luck!

Kari it putting on 2 clinics for a 5k and 10k run.

So, who can join in ?

The 5km intro/novice program is suitable for anyone from the complete novice to those who are looking for a safe and rewarding environment to begin running again. The clinic goal is to guide motivated individuals through a 10 week run/walk program to safely complete a 5k run at the end of the clinic. (*Prerequisite: ability to run 4 min continuously)

The 10k clinic is a novice program suitable for anyone who has been doing some run training and is looking for a safe and rewarding environment to begin running longer distances. The goal is to guide motivated individuals through a 14 week run/walk program to safely complete a 10k race (road or trail) at the end of the clinic. (ability to run 10 min continuously)

During the clinics, Kari introduces us to a variety of topics that will be beneficial to our growth as runners. Clinic leader(s) will be on hand to ensure you are running properly to help prevent injury and to help answer any questions you may have.

CLINIC TIME AND DATES:

5k clinic - July 5th to September 6th, 2011 - $55.00
10k clinic - June 20th to September 29th 2011 $80.00

How does it work?

the group meets once a week 'as a clinic', then each runners must dedicate other times during the week to keep up with the training schedule -
can't make the clinic time? No problem, you can still join the group - Kari will keep you in the loop every week with the training schedule and tools to help with your running, and then you also get access to the emails of all the other runners. You can then email other runners and let them know what time works for you and more than likely, you'll end up with a few people to run with you.
So even if you don't live in Nakusp, or the clinic time doesn't work for you, YOU CAN STILL JOIN THE CLINIC!

I cannot say enough good things about Kari's ability to lead a group to success; running with a group provides motivation, camaraderie, and support to keep you running and help you meet your fitness goals. It is FUN and at the same time healthy and rewarding.

All the forms are available at the store so you can pick up anytime.

Happy Running!
(Note: for those who don't know yet, the May 8th 5k run and 2k walk on mothers day ended up raising over $3200 for charity; way to go everyone!!!)

May 8th Photos available here

If you were at the run on May 8th and are interested in seeing the pictures who were taken by Deb booth of Deb's Photography & Framing, we have the preview book at Little Mountain. It's easy to order; look in the book, when you see something you like, write down the number beside the photo and decide what size you would like. You can leave it with us with your phone number and name or call or email Deb directly:
t: 250 265 3045
e: shutterz@telus.net

Her prices are competitive and right now, orders under $99 get 20% off and over $100 get 25% off. Great deal!